What special item do they keep on them at all times?
Inside on of Varka's pant pocket is a folded up photo of the people he cherishes back in Mondstadt. Although it has water damage on the corners, and a small piece got burned at the bottom, he refuses to take another one. Or carry around a new photo of the same people.
"It's been more than five years since this photo was taken, haha! There's no way I can replace it! Everyone looks different now, especially Razor and Rosaria. But look your peace sign is still there!"
The day this precious photo was taken was back before Diluc had left the knights, Varka was about to set off on another expedition though this one would only take a few weeks. His partner volunteered to take the picture of everyone, "are you sure you don't want to be in it?" Kaeya asks, "I can always take it or find someone that can."
"Nope I'm already here!" They say with a cheeky grin, "ready everyone?" They throw up a peace sign with their non-dominate hand, which appears in the bottom right corner of the picture. Varka remembers their smile well, and often looks at this photo while writing letters to the people back home.
The Curatorium of Secrets once had an interesting client. A man who made all kinds of weird demands, and always asked for collateral. "How about that jewel you always have wrapped around your leg?" The man smirks, eyes shifting towards the ground even though Nefer was sitting behind her desk.
Her eyes narrowed, "what more do you need?" She asks, "we have given you body guards as a safety measure already and half of your payment. Are you trying to say the information you have is worth more than that?"
Jahoda stood outside her office, wanting to report back from her latest job, but now stood terrified. The 'jewel' the man is referring to is actually pine amber Nefer's partner had made into a pendant for her birthday some time ago. Nefer than attached it to a leather garter to carry it around with her in her day to day life. She knew that asking for this item would leave him either defenseless or without the rest of his payment. "Boss Nef, let him have it!" She silently cheered.
Columbina was out walking late one night, gathering her thoughts about the next Moon-Prayer Night. How she would try to help the people of Nod-Krai, how she would still keep in contact with Arlecchino. All the 'what if's' swirling around in her head until she looks up at her home, the moon. She now finds great comfort in looking up at it, and realizes it is almost like looking at her partner.
She looks down at the ring they had given her as a surprise gift on cold winter day. Columbina remembers looking at their hand and saw a similar looking ring. "We match!" They exclaimed, "thank you for being in my life." They smiled fondly at her. Since that day she has never taken it off. A ring made out of moonfall sliver has since been a popular trend among the people in Nod-Krai, and the merchant who first started to sell them has made a fortune.
"I know everything will be alright with you by my side." She whispers, rubbing her thump over the ring.
"Ah, welcome back." Flins greets his partner who has returned to the lighthouse. "How was the trip?" He lays the photo he was admiring onto a table to greet them by the door.
"The usual." They reply, "still looking at that old thing?" They tease, "I know they say 'take a picture it'll last longer' but I didn't think you would take that seriously.
To Flins who has lived many, many years, a picture would not last long enough. To catch a moment in time was precious, magical even, to someone who has watched time pass by more than others. "The way the moonlight caught your eye was magnificent." He teases, "and that smile, I wasn't kidding when I said I could look at it for hours."
"Ms. Lauma!" She turns her head to see two children of the Frostmoon Scions calling out to her.
"Yes?" She greets them with a smile, "how can I help you two?"
"We want a bracelet just like yours!" They both exclaimed with stars in their eyes.
Lauma chuckles, "this was a very special gift more someone very important to me. They say that the animals helped guide them to find the materials." They children both looked at each other, "I'm sure if you go ask them they would be more than happy to help."
"Y-yeah!" One of them piped up, "thanks!" She waves them off and goes back to her duties. Laughing to herself, she hopes she didn't make too much trouble for them.
"Here, put this on your finger." Arlecchino hands a small box to her long time partner, in every sense of the word. The box held a ring, the jewel in the center has a deep red. The band itself was pure black. It was crafted by the best of the best, right here in her home of Fontaine.
"The color of your eyes." They look up at her with such fondness she never got used to. "Thank you."
She shakes her head, tucking her head behind her ear to reveal an almost matching set. Only these jewels were the exact same color has her beloved's eyes. "I know it's not quite the same as matching but this is much more subtle for me. I hope you like it."
"A bookmark?" He holds the paper closer to his face. The first thing to catch his eyes was the Sumeru rose, then the sakura blooms. "Did you make this?"
Wanderer gets a nod in reply, "I know it's a lot of purple but this is sort of what I think of when I think of you." He scoffs at these words, walking pasted them and shoves them to the side. Not Enough to make his partner fall over though.
"Since you made it for me I guess I'll just have to treasure it then." The bookmark was then asked by multiple of his peers at the academy. Durin and Albedo were the only ones who could figure out why he kept it in such good condition.
Sucrose and Timaeus have often seen Albedo fiddling with something underneath his shirt. At first they thought it might have something to do with his body. The two came up with a few hypotheses before finally asking.
"If there's anything wrong with your body we will definitely help!" Sucrose mustered up the courage to say.
"Oh," Albedo chuckles and reveals a gold chain necklace with scarlet quarts serving as it's centerpiece. "I have formed the habit of messing with this when I'm coming up with a formula or thinking about my next sketch." Timaeus gives him a look, "yes it is a gift from them. I guess feeling it makes me feel closer to them when they're not here."
Note: contains getting stitches and needles so please be careful
"Give me your arm." Varka's eyes narrowed at his fellow knight. "I'm serious." He grabs the other's hand that is currently holding a needle to stitch up to a knife cut.
"I already told you I got it." They bite back, trying to jerk their hand away from him. "I've done this plenty of times before, on myself and other people too."
"Yeah yeah the church trained you with some medical skills." Varka's voice begins to raise, "but you know something, I was taught the same things too. So for the love of Barbatos just give me the damn needle." He finally snatch the item out of their hands, the wind below past making the candle light dance. His eyes met their again, and he steeled himself for whatever they may throw at him next.
But they didn't.
They laid their arm face up, bracing it on their knee. Varka wishes they would just let him do this outside of his tent, where a table would be set up at. The two are currently with a smaller group of knights in the heart of Pillar of Embla. The group is traveling back from Nasha town after meeting with the Frostmoon Scions and a few lightkeepers that were stationed in that area. A messenger from the Favonius Keep area made his way to their makeshift camp just before dusk.
"What have I told you about hiding injuries? I've watched you lecture new knights, even lightkeepers, and here you are doing just that."
"If you're gonna call me a hypocrite than just say that." They roll their eyes, "stitch me up so I can go back to my tent already."
Varka grabs their wrist in his hand, holding it steady, but his other hand refuses to move. "I wish you would take care of yourself more. Care about yourself more."
"What-"
"You care so much about the people around you. I'm the reason you have this wound in the first place!" He let's about a bitter laugh, "you're covered in bruises too from all that training with the other knights, even though we're all out here on the expedition. Here you are still teaching them."
"I get it Varka-"
"I don't think you do." He cuts them off again, "look at me." He squeezes their hand, but their eyes never met. His eyebrows furrowed but tried one more time, gently squeezing their hand. Their eyes cut to his hand and finally looked at him. "There you are."
They could see all the hurt and worry trapped within, what was hiding behind his leader voice and tone. "I get it Varka," they start again, "I really do. But worrying you and everyone else while we're all in the middle of a fight doesn't seem worth it to me." They squeeze his hand back, "I've patched you up so many times now it's been hard to remember every single time. But I'll never forget the times when I knew it might leave more than just a scar."
All of the previous tension vanished from the room. They bring Varka's hand up to their lips, "I'm still here. While I'm sure this'll leave a scar I'm not going anywhere. Not without you, at least." Varka's expression finally softens, "are you gonna stitch me up now?" They joke.
Varka moves the needle in his hand with extra care, giving them a kiss when it was all done. "Stay with me tonight?"
"Who's on look out?" They ask.
"The others have that all situated," he replies, "besides we both took turns last night so we deserve to sleep some more." His true goal is to calm his nerves down after watching them take that hit early in the day. He'll be the first one to check on the wound in the morning until it heals up.
"Alright alright." They agree, "but you can sleep all over me tonight." They both stand up, "I'll go check on the others, so please finish you're paperwork." They head outside of the tent to find and make sure everyone was ready to move out as soon as possible in the morning.
By the time they got back Varka had actually finished his work and was laying down waiting for them. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah," they reply pulling their boots off. "Just making sure everyone else was too." They take their place next to him, putting one arm around him, his head now resting over their heart. He leans up, kisses their cheek, and closes his eyes. Breathing out slowly, both of them finally being able to rest.
"So you waited up for me after all, huh?" Varka announces himself into the now empty bar.
"And you just had to come walking in at the very last minute, didn't ya?" The bartender bit back, "what do you want?"
He slowly steps up to the bar and looks at the bottles displayed on it's shelfs. "I see you have some different items now."
"It has been years since you've been here, sir."
He smiles shamelessly, "and you look just as amazing as the last time I saw you."
"We had a screaming match the last time I saw you." They put down the glass they were polishing, "seriously sir what are you doing here? I do need to close up before anyone else-" Varka locks the door behind him.
"I saw Charles out front just before I walked in. He looked like he had a busy night so I told him that I'd help finish closing up. Just like old times." Varka cuts them off, "and safety first, you know?" He knew full well that lock was mostly just for show and there was another door out back they could easily walk out of. He knew full well they would, and have, used that in this situation before. This action was more of a display of him getting serious.
They slid a wet rang across the bar, "the tables upstairs need whipping down."
Varka cracks a toothy grin, "I'll get right on it, boss!"
With him out of the way, the bartender begins to take inventory in the back while mulling over their options. It wasn't like they didn't want to talk to Varka but figured it would have been better to wait until the fanfare of the knights returning home was over. Clearly he had other plans. This was the last task of the night, now early morning, and there was really only two options to go from here.
Stay here and have a talk or go someone else to have it. Running away isn't one, not tonight.
Varka pops his head into the room from the corner, "is that all?"
"Yeah, let's lock up and leave."
"Great, so my place or yours?" Sometimes, they swore Varka still acted like a teenager from back when they first met.
"Mine, only Barbatos knows what your place looks like right now."
"Probably full of cute little dust bunny's." He smiles and looks to see their unamused reactions.
"More like a bunch of dusty hair balls..." They retort under their breath, "don't expect my place to be a boar pen like yours."
Varka walks through the empty streets of his beloved city with a grin. Most things haven't changed since he left. A few more apartments have small flower pot hanging off the balcony and the kittens that once roamed the area are fully grown cats. "I don't suppose you know if anyone's been by my place... do you?"
"Not a clue." They hum, "guess you should swing by after we're done." Varka was hoping he could crash someplace else tonight, in case his house was nothing but a dusty mess. He just shrugged it off, well I'll leave a window open and sleep it off.
After fumbling with their keys for a bit, the bartender opens the door to their apartment. "You know what to do." They step out of their shoes and leave him at the door to light a lamp.
He takes in the view and suppresses the urge to let out a cheeky, 'honey I'm home.' "Wow." He breaths out, "you've really changed it."
"Yeah?" They give him a confused look.
"Yeah, it's, it's uh," his eyes met theirs, "it's beautiful."
The look on the bartender's face was all that it took for Varka to start a conversation he's been mulling over for the past few years. For a moment he thinks about all the letters that never made it to their doorstep. All the different hallucinations the wild hunt had shown him, how all of them were about one bartender he left behind in his homeland. The screaming match they had the night before he left, all of it playing over and over in his head as he made the journey back.
"So, uh, you seeing anybody?" He asks, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed against his chest in a casual manor.
"Is that really how you want to start this off?" They reply coldly, crossing their arms as well.
"I think it's a good jumping off point." He replies, "it would be nice to know and kinda important to navigate this conversation." His leader voice starts to slip through.
"No I'm not." They answer, "I haven't seen anyone since you've left. Unless you count bickering with Venti flirting."
"Whoa whoa whoa," Varka can't contain his laugh as he processed to make a bad joke, "bickering? With the anemo archon? How are you ever going to stop that rumor going around about you two?" He laughs, loosing up a bit.
They roll their eyes, "believe me it was no laughing matter for a second there." Varka grew tense as those words left their mouth. "Venti, some random regular who's name I can't ever remember, even fucking Cyrus at one point." They sigh and rub their hand over their face, "it was such a mess. This city sure does like it's gossip."
Varka was at a loss for words. Of course someone would want to date them, even for just a night. He always thought they were quite the catch, dealing with drunk customers all the time never made him worry about their safety when it comes to non-monster matters. They knew enough about first aid to jump in and help someone before a healer arrives on scene. Never mind the fact that he's always found them attractive, ever since they first met.
His eyes, which are glowing a light blue in this lighting, were only ever for them.
"Yeah sounds like it." He smiles, trying to offer them some sort of comfort.
"What about you?" They asked him, "meet anyone worth of our grandmaster?" Their eyes widened at that familiar smile. It was the same one he had plastered on his face after their first kiss all those years ago. The same one he always wore when the bartender had to polite turn a customer down, and then quickly grabbed his hand has they both walked away.
"Do you really think I would look at another person like that?" Varka takes a step forward, the bartender takes one back. "I'd see you in the people I met in Nod-Krai, a kind young teenager helping out an older lady carry something. An adventure from Inazuma staring down a shop owner just to shave off a little mora on an item."
He wants to reach out and grab their hand, pull them into his embrace. Whisper everything the wild hunt had shown him while running his finger through their hair. Making himself believe none of it was actually real. Instead, he clenched his fist tight and made it stay by his side.
They were at a loss for words, wishing they had taken a shot to easy their nervous before leaving the bar. Which has never helped them before. Varka has always been outspoken about his feelings, a very different contrast to them.
At this moment, after hearing those words, their body was screaming at them to make an exit out the back door. Or the window. Or even muster up enough strength to shove him out the door and lock it for good.
A small part of them longs, yearns even, to walk into his warm embrace.
"I guess that's good to hear." They reply, "should we pick up where we left off last time?"
Varka steps forward again, "that depends." He takes in a deep breath, "do you still 'fucking love' me?"
They scoff at his words, how dare he bring that up. "So what if I do? Are you still mad that I don't want to be with someone else?"
He take two quick strids and snatches their hand, "are you kidding me? I said that so I wouldn't cause you anymore pain-"
"Even when I said I would wait for you? No matter how long it took?" Varka tries to cut them off but they didn't give him the chance. "If you wanted to break it off then you should have just said that."
"Of course I didn't want to break it off." His voice turned stern but never raised the volume. He did not want another screaming match between the two of them, or with anyone for that matter. "I said that I loved you too, and I still do love you." He moves his fingers to interlace with theirs, "sometimes it scares me how much I do. Fuck it I love you more than this city, more than going out and seeing the world. Even more than drinking."
The bartender squeezes his hand, "then don't you ever suggest that I see someone else when you still want me to be with you. Especially when you're about to leave on an expedition you might not even return from." They turn them both around and sit Varka down onto their reading chair, wrapping their arms around him, bringing his face to their chest while their fingers run through his hair.
Varka wraps his arms around their waist and bringing them as close to him as possible. "Don't walk out the door and leave me standing there wondering to give you space or chance after you. We'll talk it out from now on, if you need to cool off a bit that's fine. Just," he mulls over the right words, "just don't leave without saying you love me."
They pull his face back and kiss the scar on his cheek, just like how they used to every time they would leave for the day. "I won't." They promise, "stay the night?"
He smiles and laughs a bit, "I was hoping you'd say that." He stands up and flashes them that grin they were all too familiar with.
"Varka don't you-"
He puts a hand on their back, sweeping them off their feet, now carrying them in his arms. They let out a noise of surprise and they arms instantly wrap around his neck to support themself. "What did I tell you about doing that without warning!"
"That you secretly like it." He makes his way to their bedroom.
"Like hell I do!" He ignore their cries, "Varka! Put me down! We're having an important conversation!"
"Well I think that we resolved that. And what happened to calling me baby? I really liked that one." He grins and decides to take a lap around the apartment to see all the new changes.
"Won't you take me seriously for a second!" They shout with more bite.
"I know that I seriously love you." He looks down to see their face all scrunched up, which everyone knew he secretly thought was cute. Their bickering back and forth was a part of why their relationship worked so well.
"Varka-!"
"Baby?" He replies, kissing their forehead, "I do suppose it's late. What'd ya say we skip washing up and go straight to sleep."
"Hell no!"
"Ah, I figured that would be your response." He strids over to their now shared bed and gently places them on it. "You win, you win, but not for long." He makes his way over to their bathroom and checks the small drawer, finding the toothbrush he had left behind.
"What's that supposed to mean?" They sigh and follow him in.
"Nothing much really." He turns to face them, "just means I get to hold you all night."
Bonus:
The sun had made it's way half way to noon when Varka met up with his favorite bartender just before their shift at the Angel's Share began. His old home still stood where it always had, not like that was much of a suprise.
He blinks at his key ring for a little too long before the bartender playfully shoved him out of the way and unlocked the door. "Did you always have a key?"
"You're the one who gave it to me, big guy." They tease and walk in.
"You were calling me sir just last night!" He calls from behind, taking a deep breath, and walks in after them. Mentally he was bracing himself for what mess he was about to walk into. Insects everywhere, various types of webs spun in the wall corners, he just wishes for no mold.
Instead the place was spotless.
"Wait I thought you said no one had been here-"
"I lied."
"Clearly." He replies a bit dumbfounded but quickly shakes it off. "I guess you really do love me." He looks over at the houseplant they gave him for his birthday five years ago. The pot is different and it now lives in a different place in the house, but it's still alive. "I thought everything in here would have been long dead."
"Yeah, well, I made an effort to keep this place cleaner than my own home." They say, "I didn't get rid of anything of course, some of the plants needed some changes but-"
Varka cuts them off with a surprise kiss, "gods you really do love me."
Another warm summer night made it's way through the city of Mondstadt, the bars are now all closed with their customers still chatting outside while the employees finish cleaning up for the night. A local bard is still singing to collect every last bit of mora he can, the knights are dragging each other back to their own beds. Walking along the cities back streets is none other than their grandmaster. Although he only stuck to apple cider tonight he could still feel the social buzz in his body.
Opening the door to his shared home, peeled off his boots, and then noticed a small light was still on in the kitchen. The closer he got to the closed off room the more he thought about how he should announce himself. His partner hated it when he scared him, "I told you don't sneak up on me! Especially at night!" They'd always hit him lightly with a rag, Varka would laugh it off and wrap his arms around them while apologizing.
He decided to go with a silly greeting, but his words changed the moment he saw them. Covered in flour with a broom in hand, sweeping up the mess in the kitchen. The window was left open, allowing the moon light to shine through with all it's might. A yawn escapes their lips as they noticed his presence.
"Hey baby." Varka greets with a soft smile.
"I'm sorry I didn't hear you come in." They reply, leaning their broom up against the closest surface. "I just finished baking Klee's cake for tomorrow," they mumbled and started to take off their apron. "I can't believe how old she is now. Our little spark knight won't be so little for much longer."
Varka just couldn't help himself, he took two steps away from the door frame and brought them into his arms. Placing on hand on the back of their head and the other around their waist to hold them steady against him. Their apron now dropped on the floor. "Is everything okay?" They ask.
"More than okay." He replies, "I love you." He has never had any trouble saying those words to anyone in his life. The man has a big heart, one he fills up with everyone in his life, some pieces are taken from nations he's been to on various expeditions. Over the many years his been with his partner has made him softer in some ways. Almost like he keeps a closer eye out for his loved ones.
He squeezes them one last time before letting them go, "how can I help you clean up?"
They smile at him, placing a hand on his unscared cheek, rubbing his jaw line with their thump. "Don't worry about it I'm almost done and you've had a long day. Just wash up and I'll meet you there soon." They place a kiss on his scar and pick up their broom again.
Varka leaves the room and begins to scrub away the days dirt. He feels his face burn a little and touches it with the back of his hand. "Hey-" He calls out before notices they were standing in the door way, "looks like I got a bit of sun on my face."
His partner laughs, "I don't think so big man." They quickly wash up next to him.
"What'd ya mean?" He replies, the words falling out of him faster than usual.
"I think I still got it." They playfully wink at Varka, who winces slightly, causing them to laugh again.
"Whatever you say, baby." He plays along, "c'mon you look tired," he wraps his around around their waist and guides them to the bed. "Let's just sleep, yeah?" Not taking a no for an answer, he practically flops down onto their shared bed, dragging them down with him. He pulls them into his embrace, locking his arms tight around their body.
"Alright alright I'm not gonna fight you." They yawn again, "but you gotta give me some space, the kitchen window is still open-"
"Then it'll bring in a nice breeze to keep us cool." Varka hums in reply, "besides I know you love being close to me too."
"Shut up." They smack him in the arm, "I need to finish that cake in the morning too..."
"Don't worry about it, it'll be alright." Varka starts to mumble his words, his partner has a bad habit of stressing about everything as they're trying to fall asleep. "I'll help you out in the morning so don't even think about it. Let's get some rest."
Another hot summer night made it's way their the street of Mondstadt and the wind blew just enough to let Varka hold them all night, even while they tried escaping his clutches.
